Tuesday, September 15, 2009

day 15

Day 15
This post includes some very personal data.

Today I begin a serious look at my food addiction ( mainly for me it is fast food, and involves running from my life, feelings, things I don't think I have any control over.) This is a 20 year struggle. I have committed to myself to begin to look at this today.

It is two fold and involves two different "parts" of who I am.

Part 1:
I believe my food addiction is grounded in my "Little Amy"..ages 8-12.
I believe it is she who runs from the things she can't control. I was sexually abused and ritualistically sexually abused from the age of 2 up to a rape by my best friends dad when I was 8. I think I have finally figured out WHY I run...I run because I can..because it is all about control. I couldn't run as a small child, but I can sure get in that car and run from my life today.

I do not eat the food in the house as part of my addiction, I am always RUNNING away from the house and eating fast food. The running away is grounded in my young child, inner child, who couldn't run as a child, away from what was happening to me. I think this is key and for the first time, today, I'm seeing this clearly.

I'm still processing this addiction. And will continue to do so in the days to come I'm sure.

Part 2:
My adult self, when out and running errands and such, makes BAD FOOD CHOICES for herself due to low self-worth and self-esteem.
I learned a long time ago in a college communications class that someone can have HIGH self-confidence and LOW self-worth and self-esteem. This is me today. I am beginning a plan on how to raise my self-worth..and part of that involves making good healthy decisions when it comes to my food choices. :-)

10:00 Thyroid meds ( 90 mg. of an old formulation of armour). I am thinking I am on too much medication for my thyroid condition. I'll post the blood work results. But my TSH is .2 (reference range is .4-4.3)This means I am on the HIGH end of hypothyroid..I feel my best when the number is around 2.5. Thyroid tests are backwards...so a high TSN means low thyroid function and a low TSH means a high thyroid function. I called Dr. Wilbrands office to see if they can change my compounded prescrition because it comes in gelcaps and I can't split the dosages. I see a new ( first ever) Endocrinologist a week from Thursday. I think being on too much medication is making me tired/fatigued in the afternoons.

Protein shake with hemp milk. fresh strawberries, minerals, sun is shining, ground flax seed and walnuts

ambertose, iron, 2 mag. lac. LAY wafer, zymez wafer, zinc liver chelate, 2 CHEWS ( Chews 4 Health for the sea veggies) ( I can't seem to eat those sea veggies so the next best thing is to get them in a supplement that you CHEW, like food), megazyme, Trophons, b-12

1:30
1/4 green pepper, broccoli, 3 leaves romaine lettuce, 2 hard boiled eggs w/sea salt, w/ 1 tbls of ranch dressing.

1 megazyme, 2 wafers, 2 mag., 2 ioderal, 1 superpill, ambertose

5:30 hand ful of mixed nuts

6:30 baked "white" potato with 2 tbls. of butter, sea salt and pepper, 2 bites of mac. and cheese ;-( 2-zinc, 2-ioderal, 1 super pill

At bed time
trophons, pro-biotic, 2 melatonin

This was my first day, in a long time, with no fast food and no soda. YEAH for me. I stayed HOME the whole day. It was not easy...a lot of crying and journaling. Realizing how much of my life has been wasted in DRIVING AWAY from my family and home. I talked briefly to my three kids that were home last night, Caleb 17, Caterina 19, and Tristan 12 and explained to them that I am going to take this thing one day at a time and I needed their help in making sure we eat at the house at night. For example, don't ask me to run by Taco Bell lol. They all agreed and thought it was nice to actually have dinner at home with each other. :-) Things will change one day at a time.

My mother quit drinking in 1976...and was sober until the day she died ( just a few short years ago). I remember her going to AA meetings and working the 12 steps. The first is to admit that you are powerless..that is a HUGE first step for me, because in admitting I am powerless can trigger my abuse as a child. But today i think I turned a corner on my addiction.

KISS- Keep it simple stupid...I like Keep It Simple Sweetie ( better) lol another AA thing.

One day down.

Adrenal Stress Index

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Adrenal Stress Index
They received test via mail on 8-25-2009

ASI-Adrenal Stress Index
TAP Free Cortisol Rhythm

6:00-8:00 a.m. 11 ( depressed) ref. range 13-24 nM

11:00-12:00 ( noon) 6 ( normal) � � 5-10 nM

4:00-5:00 PM 6 ( normal) � � 3-8 nM

10:00-Midnight 8 (elevated) 1-4 nM

Remarks:
Depressed morning cortisol, <13 nM, is suggestive of marginal HPA ( Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal) performance. Normal rhythms exhibit highest cortisol value for the day at 7-8 am.

An elevated morning/night free cortisol value may be associated with insomnia, and caused by a stress response to an emotional or mental situation, nocturnal hypoglycemia or chronic pain and overt/hidden inflammation.

What next?
a) consider appropriate dietary modifications and glycemic control that include an insulin friendly carbohydrate-to-protein balance.

b) consider initiating a mild to moderate aerobic exercise program

c) the literature resports ACTH pulse height is attenuated by use of Phosphorylated serine suppliment within 1-2 hours of time(s) of high cortisol.

d) consider the palliative use of natural or pharmaceutical anti-histamine or anti-inflammatory.

e) consider balancing the sympathetic/parasympathetic systems using established techniques, examples: meditation and Tai Chi or heart rate variability coherence ( Freeze Framing).

f) if above changes do not yeild the desired clinical and follow up test results, look for low grade or hidden inflammation and infections. Examples food intolerances, chronic gastrointestinal and other infections.

DHEA
pooled value 8 Normal adults ( M/F): 3-10 ng/ml

ISSN Insulin
Fasting <3 Normal: 3-12 uIU/mL

Post-Prandial <3 depressed Optimal: 5-20 uIU/mL

Depressed Post-prandial insulin within four hours after meal. This may be caused by a small carbohydrate load in the preceeding challenege meal or a reduction in pancreatic insulin release or synthesis. Consider a closer examination of challenege meal composition to rule out pre-diabetic tendencies.

P17-OH 17-OH Progesterone 40 Normal

MB2S Total Salivary SIgA 6 Depressed Normal ranges: 25-60 mg/dl
Borderline: 20-25 mg/dl

A depressed mucosal SIgA may be attributed to one or more of the following reasons:
1-Excessive chronic cortisol output causes a reduction in the number of SIgA producing immunocytes. Appropriate restorative treatments have been shown to produce incremental improvements in SIgA.

2-Excessive sympathic activity causes inhibition of SIgA release from the mucosal immunocytes.

3-Chronic deficits in cortisol and/or DHEA levels.

4-Possible systemic deficit in capacity to produce IgA-an inherited problem. Rule out possibility with a serum IgA test. A normal finding rules out this possibility.

F14 Gliadin Ab, SIgA ( saliva) 6 Negative Borderline: 13-15 U/mL
Posi tive: >15 U/mL
Notes on Gliadin Ab Test:
Gliadins are polypeptides found in wheat,rye,oat,barley,and other grain glutens, and are toxic to the intestinal mucosa in susceptible individuals. Healthy adults and children may have a positive antigliadin test because of subclinical gliadin intolerance. Some of their symptoms include mild enteritis, occasional loose stools, fat intolerance, marginal vitamin and mineral status, fatigue, or accelerated osteoporosis. ( Scan. J. Gastroenterol. 29:248(1994).

***I do not have a gluten sensativity. This is GOOD news.

Blood Work 8-23-2009

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Blood Work 8-23-2009
Had a CBC with Diff & plt...
all of these results were in range ( all excellent)

TSH 0.267 ref. range 0.450-4.500
Calcitriol ( 1,25 di-OH Vit D) 54.0 ref. range 15.9-55.6
T4, ( free Direct) 0.65 ref. range 0.61-1.76
Thyroid Peroxidase ( TPO) Ab 111 0-34
Antithyroglobulin Ab 1669 0-40
Triiodothyronine, Free, Serum 2.7 2.3-4.2
Hematocrit 39.6 34.0-44.0




What do these numbers tell us?
In my opinion: tsh is too low, need to back off the medication ( am going from 120 mg. to 90 mg. ) Although Naturopath says all numbers look fine. there is some speculation that the antibody numbers come down the more medication you're on. I think my numbers are coming down because of other things..such as the amalgam/mercury fillings being replaced, getting rid of wheat/gluten and grains from my diet.

Vit D and Iron ( hematocrit) are good although having a test for Ferritin levels would be a good second test for the iron levels. I get a lot of sun, and for the first hour i do not wear sunscreen, in fact I quit wearing sunscreen and after about an hour I am wearing a hat and long sleeve shirt, light white cotton. I get Vit. in that Super Pill I take twice a day as well.

Seeing as I was anemic in Nov. 2007 and my Naturopath said it might take up to 5 years to raise my iron levels..I think something is going VERY RIGHT..with my absorption of the iron. :-) This is good.

The two test for the antibodies ( which tell us how bad the autoimmune issue is, Hashimoto's) have come down since the last test and are almost in half since the first test in Nov. 2007 where they were over 3000 and not registerable on their scale ( just said over 3000). So this is yet another good sign. YES still way too high, but we're working on that.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sharing Information on Health

I am trying to combine and share on several different sites, my health journey.
So when you see something like days 10,11,12 won't be posted that's coming from my daily blog on my health ;-)

I'm setting up a NEW Autoimmune board in yahoo. A place to present ALL that I have found..I want it to be available to everyone who wants to see it and read it so they can make their own best choices on what their "plan of actions" needs to be.

I'm still posting on my other health board Healing The Body as well.

One day i will probably just be posting in one spot ( when the Cafe is open and running I won't have time to be here as often.)

Anyone reading this post needs to pass the word along to anyone you know who has an autoimmune issue or any health issue as the autoimmune board will be a excellent resource for them in the weeks/months/years to come.

Enjoy your day!
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Reviewing TESTS and starting anew

Days 10,11,12 won't be posted as I don't have time ;-).
Went to see Dr. Doris Compton ( restorativeendocrinology.com) on Friday (11th) and went over the mineral test results and the Saliva/ Cortisol test results. Also reviewed my blood work.

From this information I am formulating a new plan of action ( which will follow), am planning to start it Monday ( Sept. 14th), but have already been on 2 days of new supplements ( Sat. and Sun.) from Dr. Doris.

I will post the test results and what they tell me about what's going on with me.

I realized this morning, don't ask me why it didn't occur to me before, but trying to figure out "what" to do is NOT EASY, it's just now coming clear to me how complicated my own health picture has become. I long for simplicity in my life and my health...as I have read a lot of information and talked to a lot of people and everyone says something different.

What I am trying to do with the NEW autoimmune board I am setting up in Yahoo is to present ALL the information I know of on autoimmune diseases and work with people on a "plan of action" for their own lives.

It would seem to me that people need all the information, what has worked for others, what hasn't worked and then design a plan on what they want...starting FIRST with what they CAN CONTROL. We can't do anyting about genetics BUT I think too many people have bought into the medical professions excuse of "this is in your genetic history there is nothing you can do about it". Bullshit..I say to that. There IS EVERYTHING you can do about it! Depending on your food choices and your lifestyle choices those gene EXPRESSIONS may or MAY NOT materialize and manifest in your physical body. THERE ARE MANY choices to be made on YOUR PART. I don ot believe you are an aimless victim.

Onward!

On my new plan I will still be 90% raw on most days as EVERYTHING I read on raw is good information. And seems to work for just about 100% of the people that eat that way and live their lives that way. :-)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Eat Right America Foundation

Our mission is to promote
scientific research and
public education to prevent
dietary-caused disease,
the major cause of
chronic illnesses
and premature death
in modern countries



Eat Right America Educational and Research Foundation.
The medical profession and the public at large will not embrace nutritional interventions to prevent and treat disease unless well-documented in the scientific literature. Today almost all research funding is directed to "drug-research".

Results from preliminary medical studies have depicted that headaches, asthma, kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease can all be improved, effectively treated and even "cured" via nutritional excellence. Nutrition for many diseases can be more effective than drug treatment.

Finding a "drug-cure" helps the bottom line of medical and pharmaceutical industries it will not help the average business. It is a response to dietary-caused diseases that has failed. Treatment is expensive. The average cost to traditional health insurer for the first 90 days after a heart attack is over $40,000. With the exception of a very few congenital conditions, every heart attack is a preventable and needless tragedy.

According to a study published in the January/February 2005 in Health Affairs more than 15 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GNP) went to health care in 2003. The 2003 percent increase was greater than the growth in the U.S. economy as a whole. Health spending rose faster than federal revenues. It is eating away at our profitability.

The rising occurrence of obesity compounds these problems. Obesity is a totally preventable and reversible condition.
The sobering facts are that:


•More then 1 out of 3 Americans are obese. 85% of all Americans die from diseases that can be avoided by adopting a healthy diet

•Corporations will bear the brunt of these costs.

•This crisis threatens to undermine the American economy.

The solution is always obvious in retrospect. Yet, in the moment of crisis, we are unable to see it because it is often hidden in plain view. What is needed is the right question.





Skyrocketing health care costs are a radical problem and require a radically different way of thinking. The question is not: "How can we reduce cost of health care?" That question has a never ending list of answers. The questions that we should be asking are:


Can I prevent these costs from being incurred in the first place? If so, what are the impediments to prevention and how can we remove them? If diseases are preventable then how can we induce people to take the necessary steps to prevent them? These questions will lead to a more comprehensive solution.

Dr. Fuhrman and our advisor board of respected physicians and scientists have been studying this problem for several years. This includes studying and identifying the underlying impediments that prevent people from being able change. It starts by understanding our basic psychological wiring and physiologic nature of food addiction.

Wellness is more than just the absence of disease. It is a multi-dimensional indicator of your physical, emotional, and social state. Total wellness is characterized by superior health and is marked by a socially connected, disease free and long life span.

Difficult problems require a new way of thinking. Traditional diets don't work-they fail to consider the complexities of human nature and the workings of the human hunger drive. Traditional approaches to wellness are inadequate and do not address the underlying impediments to wellness. Our approach is based on the latest scientific research and clinical experience and it is based on modeling excellence. We are in desperate need of funding for studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach to disease and to bring the results of the research to the public for implementation.

Raw vs. cooked

Raw vs. Cooked?
Certainly, there are benefits to consuming plenty of raw fruits and vegetables. These foods supply us with high nutrient levels and are generally low in calories too. Eating lots of raw foods is a key feature of an anti-cancer diet style and a long life. But are there advantages to eating a diet of all raw foods and excluding all cooked foods? The answer is a resounding “No”. In fact, eating an exclusively raw-food diet is a disadvantage. Excluding all steamed vegetables and vegetable soups from your diet narrows your nutrient diversity and has a tendency to reduce the percentage of calories from vegetables in favor of nuts and fruits which are lower in nutrients per calorie.

Raw vegetables are dramatically low in calories and we probably only absorb about 50 calories a pound from raw vegetables. Our caloric needs cannot be met on a raw food diet without consuming large amounts of fruits, avocado, nuts and seeds. This may be an adequate diet for some people, but in my 15 years of medical practice catering to the community of natural food enthusiasts, raw foodists and natural hygienists, I have seen many people who weakened their health on such raw food, vegan diets. Frequent fungal skin and nail infections, poor dentition, hair loss and muscular wasting are common on such fruit-based diets.

Unfortunately, sloppy science prevails in the raw-food movement. Raw food advocates mistakenly conclude that since many cooked foods are not healthy for us, then all cooked foods are bad. This is not true.

The idea that stirs the most enthusiasm for this diet is the contention that cooking both destroys about fifty percent of the nutrients in food, and destroys all or most of the life promoting enzymes. It is true that when food is baked at high temperatures—and especially when it is fried or barbecued—toxic compounds are formed and most important nutrients are lost. Many vitamins are water-soluble, and a significant percent can be lost with cooking, especially overcooking. Similarly, many plant enzymes function as phytochemical nutrients in our body and are useful to maximize health. They, too, can be destroyed by overcooking. However, we cannot paint with this brush of negativity over every form of cooking.

Only small amounts of nutrients are lost with conservative cooking like making a soup, but many more nutrients are made more absorbable. These nutrients would have been lost if those vegetables had been consumed raw. When we heat, soften and moisturize the vegetables and beans we dramatically increase the potential digestibility and absorption of many beneficial and nutritious compounds. We also increase the plant proteins in the diet, especially important for those eating a plant-based diet with limited or no animal products.

In many cases, cooking actually destroys some of the harmful anti-nutrients that bind minerals in the gut and interfere with the utilization of nutrients. Destruction of these anti-nutrients increases absorption. Steaming vegetables and making vegetable soups breaks down cellulose and alters the plants’ cell structures so that fewer of your own enzymes are needed to digest the food, not more. On the other hand, the roasting of nuts and the baking of cereals does reduce availability and absorbability of protein.

When food is steamed or made into a soup, the temperature is fixed at 100 degrees Celsius or 212 Fahrenheit—the temperature of boiling water. This moisture-based cooking prevents food from browning and forming toxic compounds. Acrylamides, the most generally recognized of the heat-created toxins, are not formed with boiling or steaming. They are formed only with dry cooking. Most essential nutrients in vegetables are made more absorbable after being cooked in a soup and water-soluble nutrients are not lost because we eat the liquid portion of the soup too.

Recent studies confirm that the body absorbs much more of the beneficial anti-cancer compounds (carotenoids and phytochemicals—especially lutein and lycopene) from cooked vegetables compared with raw. Scientists speculate that the increase in absorption of antioxidants after cooking may be attributed to the destruction of the cell matrix (connective bands) to which the valuable compounds are bound.

Another fallacy promoted in the raw food movement and on the web is that the fragile heat-sensitive enzymes contained in the plants we eat catalyze chemical reactions that occur in humans and aid in digestion of the food. This is not true. Plant foods do not supply enzymes that aid in their digestion when consumed by animals. Our body supplies exactly the precise amount of enzymes needed for digestion; we are not ill equipped to digest normal food. The plant enzymes are broken down into simpler molecules by our own powerful digestive juices and even those that are absorbed as peptide size pieces (or with some biologic function) do not function to catalyze human functions. So it is not true that eating raw food demands less enzyme production by your body. A healthy body produces the precise amount of enzymes needed to digest the ingested food appropriately and the enzymes our body uses for other processes are unique to our human needs and are not present in plants. We make what we need from the proper materials.

In conclusion, eating lots of raw foods is a feature of a healthy diet. I always encourage people to eat more raw food. One of my common statements is—the salad is the main dish. Raw food is necessary for digestive efficiency, proper peristalsis and normal bowel function. Certain foods, especially fruit, avocado and nuts undergo significant change with cooking and are best eaten raw. Baking, frying, barbecuing and other high heat cooking methods that brown and damage food form acrylamides, which are carcinogenic. Browning and other high heat cooking methods should be avoided. Cooking techniques like steaming vegetables, stewing foods in a pressure cooker and soup making, do not have these drawbacks. They do not brown foods or form acrylamides.

Eating raw food is necessary for good health and is an important feature of a healthy diet. But that does not mean that one’s entire diet has to be raw to be in excellent health. It also does not mean eating an all raw diet is the healthiest way to eat. It is healthier to expand your nutrient density, your absorption of plant protein and your nutrient diversity with the inclusion of some conservatively cooked food in your diet.

Link LB ; Potter JD. Raw versus cooked vegetables and cancer risk.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2004; 13(9):1422-35.

Ismail A ; Lee WY. Influence of cooking practice on antioxidant properties and phenolic content of selected vegetables. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2004; 13(Suppl):S162.

Is Cancer Preventable? Dr. Fuhrman

Is Cancer Preventable?
We live in an era where the majority of Americans think that diseases strike us because of misfortune, genetics, or unknown factors beyond our control. When serious disease “strikes,” we run to doctors and expect them to fix us with a pill. Most people have no idea that most diseases—including cancers, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes—are the result of nutritional folly and are avoidable. Have you ever wondered why, despite the billions of dollars spent on cancer research over many decades, and the constant promise of a cure which is forever "just around the corner", cancer continues to increase? In spite of more than 20 billion dollars invested in cancer research in the last ten years, the death rate from cancer has increased steadily for the last 75 years in line with increases in overweight and heart disease. Once quite rare, cancer is now the second major cause of death in Western countries such as Australia, the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. It is not true that this increase in cancer is due to people living to be older and thereby having a greater chance of contracting cancer. Cancer has increased in all age groups, and has been linked in population studies to dietary and life-style factors that promote the particular forms of cancer that are predominant in those populations. Has the “War on Cancer” been lost? The fact is that we now have good evidence to understand the complicated biology of cancer causation and educated individuals can dramatically reduce their risk of ever getting cancer. Not only has cancer incidence been increasing, but the age at which people die of cancer has not increased. The five year survival statistics of the American Cancer Society are misleading because we are diagnosing more cancers at an earlier stage of the disease, so the claims that patient are living longer with cancer is also false. More women with mild or benign diseases are being included in statistics and reported as being 'cured'. The bottom line is that we are feeding a cancer research establishment and the drug industry that will never win the war on cancer. Cancer is a disease of lifestyle choices that cause cancer and when we finally decide to work together to prevent cancer we will begin to win some battles and eventually the war. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine assessed progress against cancer in the United States for 35 years concluding that despite progress against some rare forms of cancer, which account for 1 to 2 per cent of total deaths caused by the disease, the overall death rate had increased substantially since 1950: "The main conclusion we draw is that some 35 years of intense effort focused largely on improving treatment must be judged a qualified failure." The report further concluded that ". . . we are losing the war against cancer" and argued for a shift in emphasis towards prevention if there is to be substantial progress.Environmental causes of cancer include lifestyle factors such as smoking, a diet high in processed foods and animal products and low in fresh fruit & vegetables, food additives, pollution, and drugs and medical procedures. Despite the general recognition that 85 per cent of all cancers are caused by environmental influences, less than 10 per cent of the (U.S.) National Cancer Institute budget is given to nutritional, lifestyle and environmental causes. Less than 1 per cent of the National Cancer Institute budget is devoted to nutrition studies. Our medicine-centered culture and the idea that doctor and drugs are the answer to our every expanding disease-care crisis has permeated our economic climate and has become woven into the social fabric of our society. Treating disease is enormously profitable and big businesses and medical institutions are sustained by almost worthless drug treatments and cancer therapies. The status quo is sustained by the fairy tale that a miracle cure is just around the corner. Your body is a self-repairing and self-healing machine. Human cells have all the features necessary to protect themselves from chemical damage to their DNA that eventually results in carcinogenic changes. A cancer cell is essentially a normal cell whose DNA has been damaged to the point that it can no longer control its replication. The process that is creating our modern epidemic of cancer is twofold. One aspect involves the exposure of our cells to damaging stresses such as chemical carcinogens, radon, acrylamides, high levels of saturated and trans fats and excess animal protein. At the same time, we have a woefully insufficient dietary intake of plant-derived nutrients, which include thousands of newly discovered and undiscovered phytochemicals that are essential for normal human cell function. Our cells have built-in, powerful mechanisms to remove or destroy toxic substances, inhibit DNA damage, repair broken DNA cross-links, and remove cells that are injured or abnormal before they become cancerous, but only if our nutritional requirements for antioxidants and phytochemicals are met.In recent years, the term phytochemicals has been used to refer to the thousands of newly-discovered nutrients supplied by plants that— in addition to vitamins and minerals—are necessary for maximal immune system protection and for the promotion of cellular detoxification and repair. Most of our knowledge about what constitutes the optimal cancer prevention diet comes from both human population (epidemiological) studies and animal studies. Populations that have a high intake of natural, unrefined plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and beans always have a low incidence of cancer, proportional to the intake of these phytochemcal-rich plant foods.Examining data from numerous epidemiological studies, the World Cancer Research Fund concluded that the evidence that fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of oral, esophageal, lung, stomach, colon, pancreatic, bladder, and breast cancer was convincing. No single substance in a plant-based diet accounts for this relationship; rather, it is the synergistic effect of multiple phytochemical compounds (which number in the thousands).Even though other factors such as chemicals, pollution, and smoking play a role in cancer etiology, the scientific literature still illustrates that a better diet offers dramatic protection even against non-dietary cancer promoters. For example, the Fiji Islands (where smoking rates are high) still has a dramatically lower incidence of lung cancer than Hawaii (where smoking rates are lower). This protection against lung cancer even in heavily smoking Fiji Islanders was shown to be the result of the high intake of green vegetables in Fiji. (1) The National Cancer Institute recommends eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. However, scientific studies suggest that this is still inadequate. More is better and much, much more is much, much better at reducing cancer risk. It is a national disgrace that very few Americans follow this very minimal recommendation to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. A healthy anti-cancer diet receives the vast majority of its calories from fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds. These should not be seen as the add ons; rather they must be the core of any diet that can be considered healthy.I have spent the last twenty years reviewing over 60,000 scientific articles on the relationship of diet and nutrition to cancer and I have to say that the evidence that we can prevent the vast majority of human cancers is overwhelming. I have comprised a body of knowledge in my books, newsletters and other writings available here at this website to inform and educate people who want to take back control of their health destiny. My purpose is to let people know they do not have to have a stroke, get demented in their later years, suffer with heart problems or get cancer. They can choose to live in a manner that can increase healthy life expectancy and they can do it in a way that is fully pleasurable and tastes great.. 1. Le Marchand L, Hankin JH, Bach F, et al. An ecological study of diet and lung cancer in the South Pacific. Int J Cancer 1995 Sep 27; 3(1):18-23. 5



www.drfuhrman.com

Organic Vs. Conventional ~~Dr. Fuhrman

Organic vs. Conventional?
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the majority of pesticides now in use are probable or possible cancer causes. Studies of farm workers who work with pesticides suggest a link between pesticide use and brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple myloma, leukemia, lymphoma and cancers of the stomach and prostate. (1) The question remains, however, does the low level of pesticides remaining on our food present much of a risk?Some scientists argue that the extremely low level of pesticide residue remaining on produce is insignificant and that there are naturally occurring toxins in all natural foods that are more significant. The large amount of studies performed on the typical pesticide treated produce have demonstrated that consumption of produce, whether organic or not, is related to lower rates of cancer and increased disease protection. Certainly, it is better to eat fruits and vegetables grown and harvested using pesticides than not eat them at all. The health benefits of eating phytochemical rich produce greatly outweigh any risk pesticide residues might pose.If it is available, organic food is certainly your best bet to limit exposure to toxic chemicals. Foods with the most pesticide residue are spinach, strawberries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, cherries, apples, and celery. Imported produce is also more likely to contain higher levels of pesticides. (2)Organic food usually has more nutrients than conventional. (3) One study performed at the University of California at Davis found that foods grown organically had higher amounts of flavonoids, which have protective effects against both heart disease and cancer. The researchers found that flavonoids were more than 50% higher in corn and strawberries. They theorized that when the plants are forced to deal with the stress of insects, they produce more of these compounds, which are beneficial to humans. (4) Overall, organic foods taste better, and organic agriculture protects farmers and our environment. 1. Sanderson W.T. , Talaska G, Zaebst D, et al. Pesticide prioritization for a brain cancer case-control study. Environ Res. 1997;74 (2): 133-144. Zahm SH, Blair A. Cancer among migrant and seasonal farmworkers: an epidemiologic review and research agenda. Am J Ind Med 1993;24(6): 753-766.2. Reynolds JD, International pesticide trade: Is there any hope for the effective regulation of controlled substances? Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, 1997;13(1). Whitford F, Mason L, Winter C. Pesticides and food safety. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service pp22, Jan. 17, 20053. Worthington V. Nutritional quality of organic versus conventional fruits, vegetables and grains. J Alt Coml Med 2001; 7(2): 161-173.4. Grinder-Pederson L, Rasmussen SE, Bugel S, et al. Effect of diets based on foods from conventional versus organic production on intake and excretion of flavonoids and markers of antioxidative defense in humans. J Agric Food Chem 2003; 51(19): 5671-5676.


www.drfuhrman.com

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Avoid Bromide for Thyroid Health


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Dr. Mercola's AVOID Bromide for Thyroid health
Avoid This if You Want to Keep Your Thyroid Healthy Posted by: Dr. Mercola September 05 2009 Bromides are a common endocrine disruptor. Because bromide is also a halide, it competes for the same receptors that are used in the thyroid gland (among other places) to capture iodine. This will inhibit thyroid hormone production resulting in a low thyroid state.Iodine is essential for your body, and is detected in every organ and tissue. There is increasing evidence that low iodine is related to numerous diseases, including cancer. Various clinicians and researchers have found iodine effective with everything from goiter to constipation.Bromide can be found in several forms. Methyl Bromide is a pesticide used mainly on strawberries, found predominantly in the California areas. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is added to citrus drinks to help suspend the flavoring in the liquid. Potassium Bromate is a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.Sources: Natural Thyroid Choices: BromideIodine 4 HealthDr. Mercola's Comments: If you are like most people, you probably haven’t spent much time thinking about how much bromine you’re absorbing from your car upholstery or your Mountain Dew. But bromine toxicity is a definite danger from some surprising sources, and it can wreak havoc on your health.Bromines All Around YouBromines are common endocrine disruptors, and are part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine and iodine. What makes it so dangerous is that it competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine. If you are exposed to a lot of bromine, your body will not hold on to the iodine that it needs. And iodine affects every tissue in your body -- not just your thyroid.You are already exposed to far too much chlorine and bromine. Bromine can be found in a number of places in your everyday world, including:•Pesticides (specifically methyl bromide, used mainly on strawberries, predominantly in California) •Plastics, like those used to make computers •Bakery goods and some flours often contain a “dough conditioner” called potassium bromate •Soft drinks (including Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sun Drop, Squirt, Fresca and other citrus-flavored sodas), in the form of brominated vegetable oils (BVOs) •Medications such as Atrovent Inhaler, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Pro-Banthine (for ulcers), and anesthesia agents •Fire retardants (common one is polybromo diphenyl ethers or PBDEs) used in fabrics, carpets, upholstery, and mattresses •Bromine-based hot tub and swimming pool treatments According to van Leeuwen, who has extensively studied the effects of sodium bromide on thyroid function:“Although the bromide ion is widely distributed in nature, the main route of exposure in humans stems from bromide residues in food commodities as a result of the abundant use of bromide-containing pesticides, like methylbromide and ethylene dibromide, for soil fumigation in intensive horticulture and for postharvest treatment.”One clinical consequence of overexposure to bromine is suppression of your thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism, which will be discussed shortly. Another is bromide toxicity.Bromine -- The Bully of the Halide GroupWhen you ingest or absorb bromine, it displaces iodine, and this iodine deficiency leads to an increased risk for cancer of the breast, thyroid gland, ovary and prostate -- cancers that we see at alarmingly high rates today. This phenomenon is significant enough to have been given its own name -- the Bromide Dominance Theory.Aside from its effects on your endocrine glands, bromine is toxic in and of itself. Bromide builds up in your central nervous system and results in many problems. It is a central nervous system depressant and can trigger a number of psychological symptoms such as acute paranoia and other psychotic symptoms.In fact, in an audio interview, physician Jorge Flechas reported that, between 1920 and 1960, at least 20 percent of all hospital admissions for “acute paranoid schizophrenia” were a result of ingesting bromine-containing products.In addition to psychiatric problems, bromine toxicity can manifest as the following:•Skin rashes and severe acne•Loss of appetite and abdominal pain•Fatigue•Metallic taste•Cardiac arrhythmiasBaby Boomers might recall a popular product from the 1950s called Bromo-Seltzer. These effervescent granules, developed by the Emerson Drug Company of Baltimore, were used to treat heartburn, upset stomach, indigestion, headaches and hangovers. Bromo-Selzer’s original formula contained 3.2 mEq/teaspoon of sodium bromide -- hence the name. The sedative effect probably explained its popularity as a hangover remedy. Bromides were withdrawn from the American market in 1975 due to their toxicity.Bromo-Selzer is still on the market, but no longer contains bromide. Bromines in Your Bread Box: Potassium BromateThe ban on bromines have not prevented them from sneaking into your foods and personal care products.You probably are not aware of this, but nearly every time you eat bread in a restaurant or consume a hamburger or hotdog bun you are consuming bromide, as it is commonly used in flours.The use of potassium bromate as an additive to commercial breads and baked goods has been a huge contributor to bromide overload in Western cultures. Bromated flour is “enriched” with potassium bromate. Commercial baking companies claim it makes the dough more elastic and better able to stand up to bread hooks. However, Pepperidge Farm and other successful companies manage to use only unbromated flour without any of these so-called “structural problems.”Potassium bromate is also found in some toothpastes and mouthwashes, where it’s added as an antiseptic and astringent. It has been found to cause bleeding and inflammation of gums in people using these products.Sodium Bromate and BMOsMountain Dew, one of the worst beverages you can drink, uses brominated vegetable oil as an emulsifier. Not only that, it contains high fructose corn syrup, sodium benzoate, more than 55 mg of caffeine per 12 ounce can, and Yellow Dye #5 (tartrazine, which has been banned in Norway, Austria and Germany.) A weapon of mass destruction -- in a can.Even drinking water can be a source of bromide. When drinking water containing bromide is exposed to ozone, bromate ions are formed, which are powerful oxidizing agents. Such was the case in 2004 when Coca Cola Company had to recall Dasani bottled water.Sodium bromate can also be found in personal care products such as permanent waves, hair dyes, and textile dyes. Benzalkonium is used as a preservative in some cosmetics.Finally, bromine and chlorine were the most common toxic elements reportedly found in automobiles, according to the blog of David Brownstein, MD (March 2007). They showed up in the seats, armrests, door trim, shift knobs and other areas of the car. Think about how much time you spend enclosed in your outgassing Chevy… windows up with no air circulation.The United States is quite behind in putting an end to the egregious practice of allowing bromine chemicals in your foods. In 1990, the United Kingdom banned bromate in bread. In 1994, Canada did the same. Brazil recently outlawed bromide in flour products. What’s taking us so long? Another case of our government protecting big industry -- instead of protecting you.Iodine Levels and Cancer RiskIodine levels have significantly dropped due to bromine exposure; declining consumption of iodized salt, eggs, fish, and sea vegetables; and soil depletion. In the U.S. population, there was a 50 percent reduction in urinary iodine excretion between 1970 and 1990. What’s this doing to our country’s health?The Japanese consume 89 times more iodine than Americans due to their daily consumption of sea vegetables, and they have reduced rates of many chronic diseases, including the lowest rates of cancer in the world. The RDA for iodine in the U.S. is a meager 150 mcg/day, which pales in comparison with the average daily intake of 13800 mcg/day for the Japanese.There is a large body of evidence suggesting that low cancer rates in Japan are a result of their substantially higher iodine levels. Iodine has documented antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties.A strong case can be made that your iodine RDA should be closer to what the Japanese consume daily, if breast cancer rates are any indication. Low iodine can lead to fibrocystic breast disease in women (density, lumps and bumps), hyperplasia, and atypical mammary tissue. Such fibrocystic changes in breast tissue have been shown to reverse in the presence of iodine supplementation after 3-4 months.If you are interested in being tested for iodine deficiency, the urine iodine challenge test is the best way to assess your iodine level. Bromine and Your ThyroidAdding to the negative health effects of bromine, the damage to your thyroid health deserves special mention. As stated in the first part of this article, bromine exposure depletes your body’s iodine by competing with iodine receptors. Iodine is crucial for thyroid function. Without iodine, your thyroid gland would be completely unable to produce thyroid hormone. Even the names of the different forms of thyroid hormone reflect the number of iodine molecules attached -- T4 has four attached iodine molecules, and T3 (the biologically active form of the hormone) has three--showing what an important part iodine plays in thyroid biochemistry.Hypothyroidism is far more prevalent than once thought in the U.S. The latest estimates are that 13 million Americans have hypothyroidism, but the actual numbers are probably higher. Some experts claim that 10 to40 percent of Americans have suboptimal thyroid function. Many of these folks may actually have nothing wrong with their thyroid gland at all -- they may just be suffering from iodine deficiency.Seven Tips for Avoiding Bromine and Optimizing IodineTrying to avoid bromine is like trying to avoid air pollution -- all you can do is minimize your exposure. That said, here are a few things you can do to minimize your risk: 1.Eat organic as often as possible. Wash all produce thoroughly. This will minimize your pesticide exposure.2.Avoid eating or drinking from (or storing food and water in) plastic containers. Use glass and safe ceramic vessels.3.Look for organic whole-grain breads and flour. Grind you own grain, if possible. Look for the “no bromine” or “bromine-free” label on commercial baked goods.4.Avoid sodas. Drink natural, filtered water instead.5.If you own a hot tub, look into an ozone purification system. Such systems make it possible to keep the water clean with minimal chemical treatments.6.Look for personal care products that are as chemical-free as possible. Remember -- anything going on you, goes in you.7.When in a car or a building, open windows as often as possible, preferably on opposing sides of the space for cross ventilation. Utilize fans to circulate the air. Chemical pollutants are much higher inside buildings (and cars) than outside.Avoid Unfermented Soy Another major contributor to thyroid dysfunction that I did not discuss above is unfermented soy. Soy isoflavones can wreak havoc on your thyroid.Kaayla Daniel's groundbreaking book, The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food is a powerful exposé that reveals the truth about the soy myths that have infiltrated our culture.It's ironic that soy has become so accepted as a health food when, as Dr. Daniel states, thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid- and hormonal dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility--even cancer and heart disease. So if you want to keep your thyroid healthy, you’ll definitely want to avoid unfermented soy products of all kinds, including soy milk

New Blog..6 Months Changing my life one meal at a time

Hi everyone...
you can follow my food blog..if you're interested..
90% RAW for 6 months.
I am writing down everything I'm eating and putting in my mouth.

I will be posting here as well with other health related matters.

One day i will combine the three places in which I post information.

For now this seems to be working for me.

I have new blood tests results to share...will detail it when I get the mineral test and the saliva test back ( hopefully next week). BUT for now my antibody numbers are coming down..they were over 3000 in Nov. 2007..last year they were around 2200 and now they are at 1169 as of about 3 weeks ago. :-) YES! Something is working!

be well,
Amy